Immediately after, a second, then a third...
More and more hungry ghosts restored the dignified appearances they had held in life.
Yin Xuan stared blankly at his arms, which had returned to their original state, then touched his face.
"This... this is..."
Yin Xuan knelt down tremblingly, kowtowing heavily toward Chen Zhou in the air.
"My thanks to the True God... for the pardon!"
As he bowed, thousands of civil and military officials, palace maids, and eunuchs behind him who had regained their appearances knelt down in unison.
"Our thanks to the True God for the pardon!"
The sound rose like a tide, shaking the heavens and the earth.
Chen Zhou looked at the scene without much emotion, merely waving his hand dismissively.
"Go now."
"The Path of Hungry Ghosts is broken; your worldly ties are severed."
"The path to reincarnation has opened; do not linger."
As Chen Zhou’s voice fell, his Ghost Domain expanded once more.
The already crumbling space of the Path of Hungry Ghosts finally could not withstand the impact.
Crack—!
The sky shattered, and the earth collapsed.
The space binding the hungry ghosts vanished.
The forms of the hungry ghosts began to fade, turning into dots of starlight.
Like fireflies on a summer night, some vanished into the horizon, while others sank into the ground, heading toward where they belonged.
They had finally broken free from the shackles of the Path of Hungry Ghosts, and the sin of assaulting a deity had been pardoned by Chen Zhou’s word.
They were free.
"Thank you, benefactor..."
"Wuwu... I'm finally not hungry anymore..."
"Finally... I can be at peace..."
"In the next life... I hope to be born into a good family..."
"Thank you... thank you..."
The air was filled with faint whispers; the gratitude and farewells of tens of thousands of souls after their liberation.
Yu He stood where he was, watching those familiar faces vanish one by one.
He saw Yin Xuan.
Before the old emperor turned into starlight, he looked back and gave Yu He a deep smile, mouthing two words.
"Goodbye."
Yu He’s tears fell like rain, yet he smiled with a sense of relief.
"Safe travels."
"You were right; there truly is a True God in this world."
"The deities have never been far; they have merely changed their faces, to the point that the people of the world do not recognize them."
"We only have ourselves to blame for worshiping at the wrong temple and misjudging who we saw."
In those five hundred years of despair, at the end of the torment in the Path of Hungry Ghosts, he had finally seen a True God.
A True God who would pardon the sins of mortals, redress the grievances of vengeful spirits, and use his own strength to tear apart the Path of Hungry Ghosts and send thousands of dead souls to reincarnation.
With the departure of the hungry ghosts, the resentment of the entire Path of Hungry Ghosts was swept away.
Yu He’s figure also began to become transparent.
Chen Zhou saw through his Law-Evaluating Eye that a soft Golden Light of Merit suddenly flared on Yu He’s body.
It was incredibly dense.
He looked into his system space at the blueprint he had just been rewarded with after sacrificing Zhu Pan’s divine sense.
【Special Building Blueprint: Dingnai Hall (Earth Grade)】
Dingnai refers to the act of harmonizing the five flavors, which metaphorically represents a prime minister governing a country, much like a chef balances ingredients.
This blueprint was clearly prepared for a Heavenly Chef.
Chen Zhou understood.
The system never let those with unique destinies slip away.
When he found the Auspicious Noble Jiu'er, Lu Cheng just happened to comprehend the blueprint for the Gathering Fortune Pavilion.
When he found the Heavenly Doctor Noble Su Xue in the Southern Region and sacrificed the Toad Saint, the system shoved a blueprint for the Myriad Herbs Life-Death Realm at him.
Now, having successfully found the Heavenly Chef Noble Yu He in the provincial capital's Path of Hungry Ghosts and sacrificing Zhu Pan’s divine sense, he was rewarded with a blueprint for the Dingnai Hall.
It was far too easy to guess what this implied.
Chen Zhou slowly landed.
The starlight on Yu He’s body also began to grow dense, and his figure gradually turned transparent.
"Lord."
Yu He looked at Chen Zhou with a satisfied smile, "I have no way to repay such great kindness."
"If there is a next life..."
Chen Zhou waved his hand and interrupted him: "There's no need to wait for a next life, and no need for thanks."
"You can pay back this debt slowly."
Yu He was stunned and said.
"If Lord thinks well of my knife skills, I am naturally willing to handle the ladle for Lord to repay this kindness."
"It's just... I have long since died. My soul is all that remains, and I fear I cannot stay for long, making it impossible to serve Lord for any length of time..."
His voice carried a hint of regret.
Song Zi'an’s eyes reddened again as he rushed over and knelt on the ground, death-gripping Yu He’s leg as he choked out: "Master... don't... I don't want you to go..."
"You only just... finally..."
He couldn't continue, merely clutching Yu He’s leg and crying like a child.
Yu He crouched down and gently patted Song Zi'an’s shoulder, his eyes full of affection.
"Zi'an, don't cry."
"Seeing you grow up safe and sound and able to inherit your master's wish is enough comfort for me."
He raised his head to look at Chen Zhou, a flash of worry in his eyes.
"Lord... I have one more request."
Chen Zhou: "Speak."
Yu He took a deep breath and said slowly: "Over these five hundred years, after Yin Xuan died, his eldest son inherited the throne and the sacrifices to Zhu Pan."
"To collect sinful karma and nourish the Judge's Eyes, the provincial capital enforced cruel laws, making life unbearable for the people."
"Almost all the living bodies in the palace were sent for the sacrificial ceremonies, leaving only dead souls to remain in the provincial capital to maintain order."
"Although I am dead, my heart still aches whenever I think of it."
"Now that Lord has slain Zhu Pan’s divine sense and pardoned the hungry ghosts, the problem in the provincial capital... I fear it has not yet been resolved."
Chen Zhou interrupted him: "No need to worry."
"Yin Wudao, including that pair of eyeballs, was slain by this seat long ago."
Yu He: "So that's how it is... then I can rest easy."
"Speaking of which, Yin Xuan said back then that his descendants would likely walk this path of no return as well..."
"To maintain order in the provincial capital and resist the copper poison, he was forced to rely on the divine objects bestowed by Zhu Pan, and forced to continue human sacrifices..."
"This path was wrong from the start, but... he had no choice."
Chen Zhou nodded: "Yin Wudao was indeed quite the talent."
After realizing that divine might could not be defied, he actually came up with a way to turn living people into malevolent ghosts.
He sent the living bodies in the palace to the sacrifices, leaving only malevolent ghosts to continue living in the provincial capital.
He established cruel laws to harvest sinful karma to feed the Judge's Eyes and banished the hungry ghosts into hell to suppress the spread of black spots.
He had actually managed to maintain the surface order of the provincial capital for several centuries.
"It's just a pity his path was wrong."
Yu He bowed deeply: "My thanks to Lord... for correcting this wrong path."
He raised his head, a sliver of concern still in his eyes.
"Then, what about Zhu Pan?"
"Although Lord slew a wisp of his divine sense, his main body is still in the Central Province."
"In a hundred years, when the realm barrier shatters, Zhu Pan will surely lead the forces of the Central Province to set foot in Gloomlight Province."
"When that time comes..."
Chen Zhou laughed.
He laughed heartily, as if he had heard something quite amusing.
"There is even less need to worry about that."
He patted the little pig on his shoulder, pulling it in front of him by its ears.
"Do you know what this is?"
Yu He was stunned as he looked at the soft, pink, and harmless-looking little pig.
Having researched ingredients all his life, he had some knowledge of rare and exotic beasts that few people knew about.
"This... should be the legendary Nightmare race, correct?"
Yu He guessed cautiously.
Rate on N.U.
